NBA Rumors: Anthony Davis And The Lakers Keep Dropping Hints That He’ll Be In L.A. Next Season
The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t able to land Anthony Davis in a trade before this season’s deadline — or maybe they didn’t try very hard, depending on what rumor you believe — but there could still be a strong chance The Brow could end up in L.A. next season.
The Lakers were rumored to be active near the NBA trade deadline in trying to land Davis, who publicly said he wants out of New Orleans. Although a later report from ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan — via Twitter — claimed that the reported offers from the Lakers weren’t true, the team’s interest in the talented big man appears to be very real.
Both sides appear to be dropping hints that Davis will be coming to the Lakers next season. One of those came on Wednesday night when Davis and the Pelicans headed to Los Angeles for a game the Pelicans desperately needed to win to salvage any chance at sneaking into the playoffs. The Lakers prevailed 125-119, and cameras appeared to catch Davis watching with great interest as LeBron hit a nearly impossible three-pointer with less than a minute remaining.
“Props to the cameraman whose only job on Wednesday was to run a Brow Cam, as Davis could barely contain a smile as his presumptive future teammate put his current teammates out of their misery,” Deadspin noted. “If you pause the video just right, you can hear ‘California Dreamin’ emanating from Davis’s eyes.”
As the Los Angeles Times noted, the Lakers crowd also did their part, including giving Davis a huge ovation when he was announced at the start of the game.
lmaooo AD's reaction to LeBron's three pic.twitter.com/Sl6hJr8BLX
— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 28, 2019
LeBron James has dropped his own hints at a potential reunion with his Team USA counterpart. As Lakers Nation noted, James used the season premiere of his HBO show The Shop to publicly defend Davis against critics who called out his public request for a trade out of New Orleans. Davis also appeared on the show, and the two seemed to share the sentiment about controlling their own destinies.
“I think now he’s finally starting to see the momentum shift — on who he is, though,” James said.
“Yeah, and that’s what it is,” Davis replied. “All the media coverage around me, and now I’m getting the chance to take over my career, and say what I want to say, and do what I want to do.”
It’s not clear if the Los Angeles Lakers plan to make another run at Anthony Davis in the offseason, or what the team might be prepared to offer, but given hints that the two sides are dropping, the rumors are only likely to increase.
